Meet George Jetson!

Back in 1976, I was 8 years old, and always wearing something patriotic, as was the fashion during that bicentennial year. I had such high hopes for my future then, not that I considered it that often. After all, I was only 8, and way too concerned with mudpies and Barbie dolls. One thing I did hope for stemmed straight out of a Jetsons episode. It was always my firm belief that by the year 2000, we'd be flying around in those cars that transformed themselves into briefcases at the press of a button. We'd have those automatic grooming machines that would instantly get you ready for the day. And there'd also be a Rosie the Robot maid that would come standard with every house.

Well, it's 2008. I have no flying George Jetson car. Heck, I don't have anything remotely close to what George Jetson had. I drive a nice car, but it won't fly me above any B-town traffic jam. There is no conveyor belt I step onto each day that has an automated program to get me dressed, coiffed, primped, and ready for my day. And Rosie the Robot? I don't even have Rosie the human that drops by once a week to do the heavy cleaning. If I did, I'm sure I'd do all the cleaning before she showed up just so she wouldn't see how messy a house can get with 3 kids, a mom, and two dogs living in it.

It doesn't mean that I don't still dream of the day that cartoon concepts become reality and bring us greater conveniences to our everyday lives. Maybe the day of flying cars, automated grooming conveyor belts, and robotic maids isn't too far off. Then again, with gas prices in quite a similar inflated state as 1976, we might be closer to seeing the favored mode of transportation resort back to the horse and buggy.

Elvis Drives a Ford Taurus

That may sound humorous to some, but residing in B-town, it is a fact of life. Elvis is just a working stiff like most everyone. He drives a regular car, has a regular family for which to provide, and does so the best way he knows how: by putting on his work uniform- a white, rhinestone-studded jumpsuit, and performing for two hours or so in front of flip-flop-wearing tourists who flock to this tourist trap on a yearly basis. While his performance is undoubtedly entertaining to these people, I'm aware that perhaps this is just the daily grind to him. Maybe he hates the sight of that "uniform." Maybe those sideburns of his make his face itch or keep him from feeling "hip." I wonder if his wife packs him a fried peanut butter and nanner sammich for his lunch/dinner/between shows snack. Does his wife look like Cilla circa 1967? Jet-black bouffant hair and eyeliner a la racoon? When Ann-Margaret was in town, did he meet her for a secret rendez-vous? If gambling is ever approved in the area, will Elvis perform at one of the casinos? Has the B-town Elvis ever been to a clambake? Does he know karate? Does he lie awake at night wondering what the real Elvis was thinking when he opted to wear those Liberace-esque jumpsuits? And what about those capes on those jumpsuits? Superhero in the making perhaps? It's a bird! It's a plane! No! It's the King! Able to span 3 octaves in one measure of music! Able to eat foods even people in third-world countries would question. Able to make grown women swoon with the giving of a sweat-stained silk scarf. That's Elvis. And there's probably at least one of them in every town, so sleep easy. And be thankful that it's not everyday you can drive down a busy street and see Elvis making his way to the daily grind in his Ford Taurus, wearing his white, rhinestone-studded jumpsuit uniform.

Groundhog Day

The Seer of Seers, the Prognosticator of Prognosticators saw his shadow this morning, and there will be six more weeks of winter. Well, DUH. Wouldn't there be six more weeks of winter regardless of whether or not he saw his shadow? I don't see how the first day of spring arrives any quicker just because the groundhog doesn't see his shadow. I don't so much look forward to the first day of spring so much as I eagerly await the arrival of baseball season's opening day.

I love that movie, "Groundhog Day," where Bill Murray gets to relive the same day (Groundhog Day) many times over, until he gets it just right. Could you imagine that? Getting to relive a day over and over until you got it right? How long before you'd realize that you just had to change a bit here and there until you hit the bullseye? Truth is, we're only afforded one shot at this life. Our days are numbered, and try as we might, we're not going to get every day just right. We're going to screw up, and there won't be one thing we can do about it. That's where grace comes in and saves the day. We don't have to be perfect because of God's grace. Christ's perfection in his sacrifice has afforded us the opportunity to erase those mistakes and move on to a new day in a new life in Him. Whew!

You Do What?!?

I love going to the movies. I don't get to do it often enough, but enjoy it immensely when I do. I take the kids to the movies whenever there's something out that's appropriate for them. People hear me say that I'm taking the kids to a movie and they say, "What? You're taking three young children to the movies? By yourself? Really?" Yes, really. I've done this for the last, oh, going on 5 years now. When I first started doing this, I had a 7 year old, a 4 year old, and a 3 year old. Now, they're nearly 12, 9, and nearly 8. I want to brag on them a bit, because they're quite wonderful. They're loud at times, but wonderful just the same. We go to the theater, get our tickets and popcorn and soda, sit in our seats, and enjoy the soporific ads prior to the movie. We notice all the parents and children around us, and the scene is rather mutinous. My children and I, however, just sit there, joking with each other, waiting patiently for the movie to start. Once the movie starts, the kids don't ask me questions about the movie, they don't really comment on what's going on, and they don't get up and move around. On rare occasions, a trip to the bathroom is necessary, but it's the absolute last thing they want to do. These children of mine are dreams to take to the movies. My good friend and Kailey's science teacher, Kelly, and our dear friend, Heather, have witnessed this on occasion, so you can verify this with them. Some of the best dates I've been on have been going to the movies with my kids.

Dance Like Nobody's Watchin'

Everyone has heard that saying, but how often do any of us actually heed it? If there were more time in the day, and I had a willing dance partner, I would dance quite frequently. Today, however, I was afforded the treat of watching my Kenzie dance as if I weren't watching her. I had tuned in to the E! Channel's broadcast of "That Thing You Do" (a favorite movie of mine), and Kenzie liked the music enough that she was twirling and spinning and jumping around, always in time, and in the most creative of ways. She was even snapping her fingers. A dancer, that one. She sometimes just dances without any music or she hums her own tune, and refers to it as ballet. She emotes as she dances, and is rather expressive for her nearly 8 years of life. I remember doing things like that when I was her age. She reminds me a lot of myself back then, when I had not a care in the world. When all hurts and sadness could be cured by a kiss from my mother. While I sometimes miss those days, I would not trade the days I have now, where my kisses are the ones that cure all hurts and sadness. I also wouldn't trade these days because of the times when we turn the music up very, very loud and we all dance around, being silly, having fun, all of us being kids. I highly recommend that, if you haven't lately, dance like nobody's watching.